Summer 2012
By Rich Sampson
Minnesota’s Twin Cities – Minneapolis and
St. Paul – always have had a legacy of great
named trains operating through their vicinity. Trains with names like the Great Northern’s Empire Builder, the Milwaukee Road’s
Olympian Hiawatha and the Chicago Great
Western’s Legionnaire evoke majesty and lore.
Today, although all but the Empire Builder –
now operated by Amtrak – have faded from
memory, a train with an iconic name is helping to reclaim the region’s proud passenger
rail tradition: Northstar Commuter Rail.
The product of more than a decade of planning and community partnerships, and a byproduct of growing congestion on the region’s
highways, Northstar is part of a burgeoning
passenger rail environment underway in the
Twin Cities. Already paired with Hiawatha
light-rail service near the Minnesota Twins’
downtown Target Field ballpark in Minneapolis, the signature blue-and-gold Northstar
trains are setting the stage for a family of
passenger rail options, from new light-rail
and commuter rail lines to streetcars, along
with new intercity and high-speed rail routes.
Minnesota’s Northstar:
A Guiding Light for a Regional Rail Network
The Long March to Rail
In May 1997, a consortium of 30 Minnesota
counties, cities and townships came together
to form the Northstar Corridor Development
Authority (NCDA). The impetus for the new
entity was a collective desire in communities
along the Interstate 94 and U.S. Highway 10
corridor to improve mobility options for travel
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between the urban core of the Twin Cities and
communities to its northwest. Traffic congestion on both thoroughfares was worsening,
and town and neighborhoods were suffering
from over-reliance on road-first lifestyles.
Moreover, the corridor was already served by
an active and well-maintained freight line –
one that also hosts Amtrak’s Empire Builder –
where communities are already familiar with
the presence of a busy rail route.
Led by the work of the NCDA with assistance from the Minnesota Department of
Transportation, station locations were studied
and negotiations began with the BNSF Railroad, which owns the former Northern Pacific
line between downtown Minneapolis and St.
Cloud. The project found an early champion
in former Governor Jesse Ventura, who rallied
support in the State Legislature. And although
his successor – former Governor Tim Pawlenty
– determined the effort should be scaled-back
from St. Cloud to Big Lake due to cost and
ridership concerns, the state approved $55
million in investment in 2005 to complete
design work for the project. Ultimately, more
than $317 in federal and state investment was
secured to construct stations, add sidings and
signals and purchase rolling stock, among
other elements. BNSF would operate the trains
under a $107.5 million contract for commuter
rail trains to access the line.
As part of the project – which was ultimately dubbed Northstar, not only a reference
to the region’s geographic location, but the
area’s former National Hockey League club of
the same name – the Hiawatha light-rail line
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was extended to a new station at Target Field
where Hiawatha and Northstar trains would
offer intermodal connections. The Hiawatha
line first opened in 2004 and today serves
more than 30,000 daily riders. A new lightrail route – the Central Corridor – is currently
under construction to reach from the Target
Field station to St. Paul’s Union Depot (for
more on Union Depot, see RAIL #29 – ed),
connecting the Twin Cities by rail transit
service for the first time in more than a halfcentury. The Minnesota Twins contributed
private investment to support the Hiawatha
line extension and the multimodal rail station
at Target Field.
On November 16, 2009, the distinctive
blue-and-gold Northstar trainsets – comprised
of Motive Power MPXpress MP36 locomotives and Bombardier BiLevel railcars – began
service on the 40-mile route between Target
Field and Big Lake, with four intermediate stations. Due to BNSF’s frequent freight
traffic on the line – which hosts more than
60 passenger and freight trains a day – six
roundtrips are offered on weekdays, with one
reverse-commute trip in each direction. Three
additional trains operate on weekends, along
with special event service for Twins games.
More than 2,600 passengers ride Northstar
trains each weekday.
“Building on the success of Hiawatha,
Northstar is the second step in the creation
of a transit system for the 21st century,”
says Peter McLaughlin, Chair of the Counties
Transit Improvement Board and a Hennepin
County Commissioner, both members of the
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NCDA. “The Target Field Station is the beginning of the new Minneapolis Transit Hub that
will connect light rail, commuter rail and high
speed rail serving the region and the state of
Minnesota.”
The Interchange: Raising Transit’s Profile
in Minneapolis
The joining of Northstar commuter rail and
Hiawatha light-rail trains at the Target Field
station marked a resurgence of passenger rail
in Minneapolis not seen since the halcyon
days of intercity passenger rail and local
streetcar and interurban routes. And while
the connections between the Hiawatha and
Northstar lines are convenient and accessible
for riders, local leaders envisioned a more
substantial downtown presence for their rail
transit network. Currently, a single platform
hosts Northstar trains surrounded by surfacelevel parking lots and overpasses of Fourth
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The Interchange will connect three light-rail lines with multiple commuter rail routes in a vibrant public setting.
and Fifth streets – the latter of which carries
Hiawatha Line trains – produces a less-thandesirable outpost atmosphere for rail passengers, especially during the region’s frigid
winters. Connections with nearby bus routes
are also challenging.
In response, a new, intermodal transit facility that will foster economic development
and serve as a central community gathering
place is rapidly emerging under the leadership
of Hennepin County. Bounded by the city’s
North Loop and Warehouse districts, The Interchange project is targeted for completion in
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2014, following a formal groundbreaking on
July 9. The $80 million facility will accommodate not only the projected influx of passengers arriving on Central Corridor light-rail
trains beginning in 2014 – expected to number tens of thousands daily – but also future
light-rail, commuter rail, intercity and highspeed rail lines, serving as a bookend to the
redevelopment of Saint Paul’s Union Depot,
which is currently underway. Bus traffic will
also receive dedicated boarding locations and
more efficient routes through the facility.
But the project boasts more than just an en-
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hanced location to make connections between
transit routes. Key elements such as The Great
Lawn and The Cascade will prioritize outdoor
public space that captures the inherent human
energy generated by a thriving transportation nexus. The former will be a green public
plaza to accommodate pre-game festivities
before Twins games, outdoor concerts and
events and an ice rink for winter, while the
latter a grand staircase connecting the Great
Lawn with the rail platforms and forms a
natural amphitheater. Additionally, mindful
of the challenges of public spaces in coldweather climates, the residual heat produced
by the Hennepin Energy Recovery Center – an
electric power plant powered by combusting
waste – will be used to easily warm sidewalks
and stairways.
The combination of bustling transit center – hosting 500 daily train and 1,800 bus
trips – and vibrant public spaces is expected
to attract mixed-use development nearby.
The facility itself will include space for retail, restaurants and entertainment establishments, while the surrounding neighborhood
will include residential, commercial and retail
opportunities. A mix of investment streams
is supporting the overall project, including
$39.1 million from Hennepin County, $17.2
million in state-supported bonds, $10.5 million in federal investment, 1.5 million from
the Minnesota Ballpark Authority, along with
$1 million in local funding.
“From a transit perspective, the Interchange
will provide connectivity that will be necessary as we build out the Green Line, the
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Bottineau Corridor, and other transitways,”
says Brian Lamb, General Manager for Metro
Transit, the region’s public transit agency,
which oversees the Hiawatha and Northstar
lines as well as local bus service. “This will
be the connecting piece of the puzzle for the
West Metro.”
“The Interchange will be the nexus of transit and culture in Minneapolis, a high-quality
series of places for residents and sports fans
to connect, circulate, and gather,” adds Peter
Cavaluzzi FAIA, Principal at EE&K Architects,
which is designing The Interchange along
with Knutson Construction. “We are proud
to be able to work so closely with Hennepin
County, Knutson Construction, and the rest
of the dynamic team to create a world-class
destination for residents and visitors alike.”
The First Piece of a Regional Network
The successful deployment of Northstar
commuter rail along with the Hiawatha lightrail line have set the stage for the Twin Cities
region to become one of the most dynamic
rail networks in the years and decades ahead.
A family of commuter rail, light rail, intercity and high-speed rail projects are all under
various stages of planning to further unite
the area, both within the area and beyond
throughout the Midwest. New commuter rail
routes – based on the state’s Commuter Rail
Plan adopted in 2000 – would stretch beyond
Minneapolis and Saint Paul to reach north,
northeast, southeast and southwest along
existing, underutilized and abandoned rail
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rights-of-way. The Red Rock Corridor would
reach beyond Saint Paul along the Mississippi
River to serve Hastings and potentially Red
Wing, while the Gateway Corridor would head
east from Saint Paul to Eau Claire. Meanwhile,
the Rush Line Corridor would span Saint Paul
to Hinckley to the north, and its counterpart
from Minneapolis would connect Bethel with
the Twin Cities. The Norwood Young America
would serve communities to the southwest of
Minneapolis.
At the same time, new light-rail routes are
also under consideration to broaden the reach
of the region’s rail transit network. In addition to the under-construction Central Corridor, the Southwest Corridor would continue
Central Corridor trains southwest from The
Interchange through communities including St. Louis Park, Hopkins and Minnetonka
before arriving in Eden Prairie. The Southwest
Corridor is expected to begin operations in
2016, connecting 18 total stations and moving more than 28,000 daily riders. Elsewhere,
the Bottineau Boulevard Transitway would
also originate at The Interchange and travel
northwest along the County Road 81 corridor,
although a bus rapid transit (BRT) option may
be selected for that route. Likewise, the proposed Orange and Red lines would utilize BRT
options to connect Lakeville with the existing
Hiawatha line and The Interchange, respectively.
Beyond the commuter rail and light-rail
projects on the drawing board are a series of
longer intercity routes and high-speed rail
projects that could position the Twin Cities
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Northern Lights Express
Among the plethora of passenger rail options under
consideration in the Twin Cities region is a vision to connect Minneapolis and St. Paul with the Twin Ports communities on the shores of Lake Superior, namely Duluth
and Superior, Wisc. That effort could someday become
the Northern Lights Express, which would re-introduce
scheduled intercity rail service on the 155-mile corridor
for the first time since 1985, when Amtrak discontinued
its version of the Northstar.
After an initial proposal emerged to restore rail service in
February 2000, planning work began in earnest in 2007
with the creation of the Minneapolis-Duluth/Superior
Passenger Rail Alliance – a joint powers board made up
of regional rail authorities, eight counties in Minnesota
and Wisconsin, representatives of Minneapolis and Duluth
and the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe – that would oversee
the development of the project. A feasibility study was undertaken that year, followed by an environmental assessment and preliminary engineering supported by federal,
state and local funding. The Alliance also included the
participation of BNSF Railroad – the owner of the rail line
the service would utilize – from the outset of the planning
process.
In 2010, the Minnesota Comprehensive Freight and Passenger Rail Plan formally recommended the inclusion
of the Northern Lights Express as part of the statewide rail system, and the U.S. Department of Transportation
provided $5 million in investment in May 2011 to advance engineering work on the project, as well as approving the preferred route that September. Currently, the Alliance is continuing engineering and design work,
including mapping, specifying equipment requirements, modeling ridership and cost estimates and studying
facilities and stations.
The Alliance is targeting a 2015 initiation of service, with up to eight daily roundtrips operating at speeds up to
110 miles per hour once upgrades are completed on the BNSF infrastructure. Northern Lights Express trains
would travel between The Interchange in downtown Minneapolis and the historic 1892 Duluth Depot, home to
the Lake Superior Railroad Museum and the North Shore Scenic Railroad, which operates in the summer to Two
Harbors. The project is expected to generate more than 13,000 jobs and fuel more than $2 billion in rail-oriented development along the route.
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at the heart of a multi-faceted regional rail
network. The Northern Lights Express (see box
on previous page – ed) would utilize the same
rail infrastructure as the proposed Bethel Line
and beyond, to also connect with the Rush
Line Corridor at Hinckley and ultimately linking Duluth and Superior, Wisc. State leaders
also envision linking the Twin Cities with
Minnesota’s second-largest city in Rochester
via the Rochester Rail Link, although that
service would require the construction of new
rail infrastructure. The route could also serve
as an initial segment of a high-speed rail line
to Chicago, Ill., via northern Iowa. Other lines
could expand intercity passenger rail options
to Mankato on the Minnesota Valley Line,
Winnipeg, Manitoba via Fargo, N.D., Sioux
Falls, S.D. through Willmar and Kansas City
on a line through Albert Lea, Iowa. These
projects would all benefit from the escalation
of rail activity at The Interchange and Saint
Paul Union Depot as well as a robust commuter rail system in the region.
“Northstar, I hope, is the first of many passenger rail services within the state and crossing state lines to connect Minnesotans with
the rest of the nation,” said Khani Sahebjam,
former MnDOT Deputy Commissioner and
Chief Engineer.
“Enthusiasm is higher than ever, markedly improved over previous years,” says
McLaughlin. “Northstar ridership is up weekdays. We’ve seen enormous ridership on the
Hiawatha line. There’s development along that
corridor despite the recession. Now people are
saying it’s amazing along the Central Corridor that will connect downtown Minneapolis
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and downtown St. Paul along University and
Washington Avenues. You do one line, people
see the benefits and soon, you’re creating a
system.”
A Moving Region
The initial rail transit network in the Twin
Cities established by the Northstar and Hiawatha lines are but a beginning fraction of
a much larger fabric of passenger rail options destined for the region. In their respective corridors, the routes have established a
foothold for rail transit to become ingrained
in the identity of the region. Like their
iconic namesakes portend, the Hiawatha and
Northstar services may serve as the dawning
glimpses of a new vision for Minnesota’s mobility, as more pieces of the rail infrastructure
materialize, from The Interchange and Union
Depot to the Southwest Corridor and Northern
Lights Express.
“We’ve connected downtown Minneapolis to
the Mall of America, to the airport, to the VA
hospital” says McLaughlin. “We’ll connect to
Eden Prairie, to Hopkins. We’ll go to St. Paul,
to the university and ultimately get you to St.
Cloud. The region is moving. Perceptions are
moving.” Northstar commuter trains terminating at the Target Field
station (top right) are currently surrounded by parking lots and
overpasses. That will all change with The Interchange (below
right), with its vibrant public plaza, mixed-use development
and easy connections to light-rail service. In this rendering, the
commuter rail platforms are visible in the upper right side of the
image.
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